Day 4922

The weather was a little better today. When we took Dawn on her early morning walk the oppressive humidity was gone. There was a nice breeze and the temperature was in the mid 70's. Of course this didn't last long. By 10 AM it was just another hot summer day. At least Dawn got a nice walk. She's only been getting one walk a day lately since it is too hot in the afternoon.

After breakfast this morning I hauled some brush out to the curb for bulky trash pickup. I wasn't outside long, but it was enough to convince me not to bother with my long walk. Oh, well. I need to make a habit of going to the gym anyway. I'm not good at making resolutions, but I really need to work on improving my upper body strength.

I feel like I'm getting a decent workout at the gym, but both my Fitbit and Apple Watch say that I'm actually getting more exercise on my long walks. It's probably just the amount of time I spend walking. Twenty minutes on a treadmill really doesn't equate to several hours on the trails. I like walking, but I'm probably going to be spending a lot of time at the gym for the next several weeks. According to the weather forecast, the temperature is going to be in the high nineties for the next ten days.

Walking is probably better for me. The rowing machine is hard on my shoulders. When I'm using the treadmill I worry that one of my knees might go out. I'm not terribly strong at this point. Whenever I use a machine, I usually have to subtract some weights from what the previous person used. At the time of day I usually go to the gym it feels a lot like a geriatric physical therapy center. Most of the people on the floor seem even older than I am. Some of them do pretty well though. I've got a long way to go before I could keep up with some of these old codgers.

My editor at SpaceFlight Magazine wants me to attend a media day for the Orion Spacecraft program at Kennedy Space Center. I told him I'd think about it. There is no launch involved, but media would have access to the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building where the Orion capsules for Artemis II through IV are in the process of being assembled. I applied for credentials to this event, but NASA hasn't set a date for the Media Day yet. We'll see what happens. I guess I'm always looking for an excuse to go back to the space center.

I also keep looking for an excuse to avoid mowing the grass. It's definitely time to mow again. I'm going to have to do this very early in the day, because it's just too hot once the sun is high in the sky. Maybe sometime next week. Tomorrow I do my grocery shopping and Sunday I always go mall walking. Monday isn't good either. I don't like the idea of mowing grass on my birthday. 

Janet does her grocery shopping on Friday and Dawn spends the entire morning waiting for her to return with the groceries. The ritual of putting away sacks of groceries seems very special to Dawn. She only gets excited about Janet's groceries though. When I return from my own grocery shopping Dawn doesn't even get off the bed.

My trips to the gym must be working because I feel sore in brand new places. My goals in life are simple now. I've just got to keep moving.

Hershey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day